Stricker settles for even-par start

Augusta, Ga. -- You know the saying "a tie is like kissing your sister"? Well, when scoring conditions are ideal, it also applies to an even-par round at Augusta National.

Steve Stricker was neither thrilled nor upset with his 72 in the first round of the Masters. He birdied two of the last six holes -- the par-5 13th and 15th -- to get there, which probably helped his mood.

"It's not the start I wanted but it's not so bad," he said. "I do some dumb things around here, I know that. But I managed to right the ship. We go out early tomorrow (8:24 a.m., Milwaukee time) so conditions should be good again."

Stricker said he was tentative at the beginning of his round.

"The scary thing here is that the greens pick up speed from Wednesday to Thursday," he said. "So the first few holes you're just trying to get the speed and you're a little tentative."